Another chance
by shadow-warrior89
Summary: With the appearance of a strange woman Auron may be able to correct the mistakes he made in the past, but what happens when Rikku ends up being dragged into it? Can he save himself and Rikku too?
1. prologue

Prologue

  
  


"Those mistakes were a long time ago" He said, the anger clearly showing in his voice "I'm not that innocent child anymore. I know what I did and I can't correct it"

"But what if you were given the chance?" She softly whispered to him "What if you could reverse everything. Fix what you did and fulfill the promises you couldn't keep...."

He seemed unsure of all this "I cannot fix time...." 

She smiled, she had hit a soft spot in him. Something that hurt him emotionally and was always in the dark corridors of his mysterious mind. Suddenly the smile faded from her face as she heard someone walking in the woods not far from them.

"Remember my words" She said in haste "There is a way, regardless of what you seem to think" This time she smiled again "If you take the opportunity then you can live again, without those dark secrets that keep you in your depressed world and eat away at your mind"

With that she was gone, leaving him to wonder about if what she said was true or just a trick.

"We've been looking for you for hours now!" He heard a girl say cheerfully, yet with concern "You never tell us where you go! You just leave!"

He decided not to answer her and merely began to walk in the direction that the girl had come from.

"Did you hear me?" She asked "Auron? Are you alright?"

He did not respond, so she decided that it was better to leave him be for now. But she vowed that one day she would get the answers from him. So with a sigh she followed him, her green eyes sparkling with her upbeat and hyper attitude.


	2. the thunder plains: something's going to...

AN: This is my first FFX fic. I hope you all like it, and please help me in any way that you can. I would enjoy the comments of others to help make this fic a good one. 

Thank you very much.

Chapter 1

Tidus ran ahead again as usual, his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. They had made it as far as Guadosalam and were now crossing the Thunder Plains. Tidus stopped and looked back "Hey Rikku!" he yelled over a loud clap of thunder "What's wrong? Still scared?" He then smiled. The only reply he received was a scream that escaped the young Al bhed as she ran for the nearest lightning tower. Tidus felt bad for her, but could not help but laugh. 

Rikku whimpered and curled up at the base of the tower. She snuck a look at her companions, Tidus was laughing, the others looked slightly annoyed. She sighed and stood up, but another clap of thunder sent her back to the ground again screaming.

"Hey, you're not looking so well ya?" She heard Wakka say.

"Clueless as usual..." Lulu commented. "Rikku, we really must continue now"

Rikku nodded and stood once more. The thunder clapped again, this time much louder. Rikku soon found herself gripping the arm of the nearest person to her. Her eyes were clamped shut and she was whimpering again. The thunder clapped again and Rikku's grip tightened.

"The storm is getting worse" She heard the person she was gripping say. "We should cross quickly."

Rikku opened her eyes and looked up to see Auron looking down at her. "Would you mind letting go." He said quickly. Rikku nodded and released his arm, then watched him walk away. She then looked at the ground blushing, the storm forgotten for the moment. Another crash of thunder brought her back to reality and she noticed that she had fell behind. She ran to catch up, but slipped and fell into Kimahri.

"Kimahri think that Rikku should watch where she go." He said slowly as he helped her up. Yuna then walked over to her cousin's side. 

"You ok?" She asked timidly. Rikku nodded, this caused Yuna to smile.

Rikku sat on the floor in the travel agency. She had nearly been made to cross the Thunder Plains all at once, but somehow she had convinced them to stop, if only for a few minutes. She sat there, remembering the time at the Moonflow, the conversation she had accidentally overheard. Something was going to happen, she could feel it.

She looked up when she heard someone shut the door. But whoever it was had already went outside.

He walked around for a moment, replaying the conversation in his mind over and over. "Can I really change the past?" He thought, "No, what's done is done." He wasn't sure anymore though, he had given it a lot of thought and every solution had lead to new questions and more confusion.

He watched as a flash of lightning lit up the sky, then decided that it was finally time to make the young Al bhed move, it was time to leave.

  
  



	3. unknown beginnings

Chapter 2

Auron woke up to find himself on the ground in the woods. He sat up and glanced around quickly. "Wait... something's not right, but I can't quite place it..." He thought to himself. He shrugged off the thought and stood up, his katana was missing so he decided to search for it.

He had not been walking for very long when he saw someone laying on the road. Silently he made his way to the person and flipped them over onto their back. It was Rikku. "If Rikku's here, then where's the others?" he wondered aloud.

Rikku began to moan, she mumbled something about that darned fiend, then opened her eyes. It took her a minute to recognise who was with her, once she did she jumped up in surprise. "Auron!" she just pointed at him. Auron looked at her with a slightly confused look. Rikku proceeded to then grab him by the arm and drag him to the nearby river. "Look!" She yelled as she jumped excitedly.

He gazed at his reflection in the river. "I'm dreaming..." was all he could manage to say. He just continued to gaze into the crystal clear waters. Finally he smiled a little "Just like ten years ago."

Rikku looked at him "he actually smiles?" She thought "that's cool." She then yanked on his arm again. "So where are we huh?" She said quickly.

"I... don't know" Auron said slowly, looking around again. 

Rikku walked over to the waters edge and leaned down, letting the cool water run over her left hand. "All I remember was that fiend setting off that big explosion, then waking up here."

"Which leaves another question, if we're here then where did everyone else end up?" Auron asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Gee... good question, I don't know." Rikku said, her voice less energetic then normal. "Hey! What do we do now?"

Auron that rare smile again "start walking." he then began to walk in the direction he figured would be North. Rikku ran to catch up with him.

"Think Yunie's ok?" She asked worriedly. Auron only shrugged. This made Rikku sigh, but she smiled again and skipped ahead.

"Going somewhere?" Auron laughed. 

Rikku waved and kept running. "I saw something up here!"

Auron ran to catch up, he stopped suddenly though. "Bevelle? We shouldn't be this far..."

"There you are!" He heard a voice say. "I've been looking for you all morning!" Auron turned around to see Braska. He tried to speak but couldn't manage to say anything.

"Hey! Auron! Hey!!! Listen huh?" rikku said. After finally getting his attention she continued "Is this Braska? I never met him! It's so cool to meet my u..." But Auron had covered her mouth to keep her from speaking. He smiled at Braska. It must have looked a little strange, cause Braska began to laugh.

"A friend of yours? She's very nice. Listen, I'm going back up to the city, are you coming?" He asked. Auron nodded, and finally released Rikku. She gave him her best death glare, but it only made him smile at her.

*********************************************

Rikku sat in her room and looked out the window. "It's so pretty here" She whispered to no one in particular. She smiled as she watched the golden sun go down over the hills. She then yawned and stood up, walking to her bed and laying on top of the covers. She fell asleep quickly and did not wake until mid morning.

AN: Thanks for the review! I hope to get more next time!


	4. Rikku's untold confession

AN: I'm currantly running my computer without spell check, so please excuse the numerous   
  
spelling mistakes I'm probably going to make. (Also thank you for sending in reviews)  
  
*************  
  
Rikku slowly opened her eyes, she glanced around her brightly lit room with  
  
curiosity. Suddenly it dawned on her as to where she was. This was Bevelle, ten  
  
years ago. The thought of everything that had happened so far caused her to laugh,  
  
this was going to be interesting, maybe even fun.  
  
She sat up and tried to fix her hair, but it was a complete mess. Rikku sighed  
  
in defeat then proceeded to open the door and walk out into the hallway. Having no  
  
idea where she was going, she merely wondered around, looking at all the statues and  
  
elegent decorations. At the end of the hall was a large window. She walked over to it   
  
and looked out, it showed a beautifull garden below her. Rikku was so absorbed in the  
  
beauty off it all that she did not hear someone come up behind her.  
  
  
  
"Hard to believe that in ten years most of this will not exist..."  
  
Rikku turned around to see Auron, her cheeks then went a bright pink. She smiled  
  
and moved over so he could stand beside her. They stood there for a few moments, neither  
  
saying anything, just looking out at the garden that lay below. Finally Rikku asked the  
  
question that had been bugging her, "What did you mean by what you said a few moments  
  
ago?"   
  
  
  
Auron concidered what he would say, then sighed "It doesn't really matter I guess..."  
  
"Oh... ok" Rikku said, barely above a whisper. But it confused her as to why he would  
  
not answer such a question. She then moved and sat on the window sill, closing her eyes.  
  
"I'm still tired..." she yawned.   
  
She then heard a loud thump, and opened her eyes. Auron gave her a quizical look, then   
  
walked over to the stairs. At the bottom a child lay on the floor crying. He walked down to  
  
the child and took her into his arms. Rikku followed him, her eyes widened to see that the   
  
child was her cousin Yuna. Rikku watched as Auron comforted Yuna, then carried her off to her  
  
father. All the while, Rikku was not far behind.  
  
************  
  
Auron sighed, then tried once more "Rikku please don't cry..."  
  
  
  
"Well it's your fault if I am!" She yelled through the closed door "How could you? How  
  
could you agree to go on that, that... suicidal pilgrimage again!"  
  
  
  
"Rikku..." But he was cut off by more of her screaming.  
  
  
  
"No! You know how it's going to end!" She sobbed, then flopped down on the bed and covered   
  
her head with a pillow.  
  
This was beginning to get to Auron, he couldn't understand why he felt so... guilty. True,  
  
he was leading his friend to his death, but that had to happen even if he had wanted to stop   
  
him. Then a very childish thought came to his mind, life was so unfair.  
  
Rikku stopped crying and walked over to the door "Ummm... Auron? Are you still there?" she  
  
asked timidly.  
  
  
  
"Yes" he said quickly.  
  
Rikku flung the door open and hugged him. Tears began to stream down her cheeks again.  
  
**********************  
  
AN: I hope you liked this chapter, so sorry that it was so short and full of mistakes...   
  
(I also forgot to add a disclaimer, I don't own FFX) Well, that's about it! 


	5. Beginning of corruption

Chapter 4: The Beginning of Corruption

Rikku opened her eyes suddenly, had it all just been a dream? Yes. She sighed with relief, the pilgrimage hadn't started, she still had time to change his mind about going. 

For some unknown reason Rikku felt happy about this whole situation for the first time. She jumped up from bed, pulling on the clothes that were left for her. She didn't know where her original clothing was, but it was probably getting washed somewhere. Rikku opened the door, practicly dancing down the hallway. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down, realizing she was lost in the large building. Sighing, she walked over to the window at the end of the hallway. She stood there for a moment before a thought crossed her mind: "Wait... this is just like my dream!" She panicked slightly, then desended the stairs, trying to make it different then the nightmare from the past night.

Once downstairs she realized that she was not far from the main door, the stairs had led her to the main corridor, which was furnished with oak chairs and pedistals with golden statues sitting on them. Rikku wandered around the corridor for a few minutes, taking the time to look at all the statues. "Wow... so pretty..." she said aloud, to no one in paticular.

"Yes, they are quite beautifull." Braska said, stepping up beside her. "These statues are antiques, they are a part of Bevelle's history now. Each one holds a different story... shall we say.." he laughed slightly, amused by the curious look on Rikku's face. "But come now, you must be hungry. After all, it's almost 11:00."

Rikku blushed and nodded happily, "Yeah! I haven't had anything to eat in like... forever!"

After breakfast, which consisted of pancakes, Rikku went out into the garden. "I wonder where Auron is..." she thought as she walked around a cherry blossom tree. She then shrugged off the though and continued walking, enjoying the beauty and serene feeling of the garden.

"Is it true?" A voice spoke from behind a hedge. Rikku ran over to the maple tree and sat at the base of it, pretending to nap. The voice continued: "He can't be.... dead, can he?"

Another voice spoke then "You mean Mika? Yup, it's all true! But ya know what?" The voice paused before continuing "There's not a darn thing anyone with status as low as us can do about it. Mika's gonna be the grand maester dead or not."

The first voice spoke again "Corruption... that's all Yevon's headed for, corruption. Braska had better get the heck outa' here and on that pilgrimage before Mika gets to his head too."

The second voice then spoke "Wouldn't worry about Braska, he's got a good head on his shoulders. Besides, any trouble and that guardian of his will take care of it.."

That was enough for Rikku, she didn't want to hear anymore of this conversation. She had to find Auron. She had to tell him what had happened. She had to tell him that even though she didn't want him to go, they had to leave now. Not just him and Braska, but her too, she decided that she was going to go with them.


	6. And so it begins

Chapter 5: And so it begins

The light poured into the halls of the temple through the large windows. Rikku ran through the hallway as fast as she could, everything seemed a blur as she passed by. "Auron!" She yelled "Where are you!" She was almost crying now, ready to give up.

"Rikku... what seems to be the problem?" Braska said as he put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Rikku cried, but felt slightly better now that she had found someone she knew.

"Braska!" She gasped between sobs and tears, "I- I need to find Auron! We can't stay here anymore!" 

Braska looked at her, concern written on his face. "I... know" he sighed "You heard about Mika then did you?" Rikku nodded in response then allowed Braska to lead her through the corridors of Bevelle. Rikku felt lost in the building, there were so many floors and corridors that she was confused easily and soon found that every hallway looked the same.

As they went around the corner Rikku saw him. She ran up to him, and in her happiness she did not realize that she had hugged him until it was too late.

They had been on the road for two hours now, not stopping at all. It was dark out, probably around 10:00pm. They had left as soon as they could, withous seeming suspicious. Rikku was finding it hard to keep up, Auron had set a very fast pace in order to get Braska from Bevelle quickly.

Finally at 12:23pm they stopped. Rikku slumped over to a tree and sat at the base of it. She looked up in time to see Auron turn away from her. This caused her to smile slightly, then get up and walk over to where Auron and Braska were sitting. "Sure glad to sit down for a moment!" Rikku giggled cheerfully.

"I don't see why..." Auron said to her as he smirked "You still seem as hyper as when we left." Rikku shrugged and laughed, not saying anything in response. She then yawned and walked over to her sleeping spot by the fire. She covered herself with the cloak that she had taken before they left Bevelle, she liked the cloak because it was green like her eyes. When she told Auron that she wanted it because of that reason he had merely shook his head and laughed at her.

Not long after she fell asleep she awoke to hear someone walking around. Rikku sat up and tried to pin point the direction of the person, putting her claw on as she did. "You won't need that..." She heard a voice say "Unless you DO plan on attacking me" Auron laughed as he stepped out of the woods and sat down beside her.

"What are you doing up so late?" Rikku said sarcasticly "You nocturnal?"

Auron sighed "What I always do, someone has to keep watch for fiends, you should know that by now Rikku"

Rikku smiled and layed back down, removing her claw. "Yeah... I know" Auron smiled slightly at her then put her cloak over her again. He stood up and walked back into the woods.

"Good night Rikku"


End file.
